Important Dates for 2009

• June 15, 2009 - Nominations due
• August 10, 2009 - Applications due
• December 4, 2009 - Star Awards announced and presented

Background

The Texas Higher Education Star Award, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in 2001, recognizes public and independent institutions of higher education; public and private schools and school districts; and organizations, groups, and individuals for their exceptional contributions toward one or more of the goals of Closing the Gaps by 2015, the Texas higher education plan adopted by the Coordinating Board in October 2000.

The plan establishes four goals: to close the gaps in student participation, student success, academic excellence, and research. (See Closing the Gaps by 2015.) For 2009, Star Award applicants will compete in six categories:

1. two-year colleges;
2. four-year colleges and health-related institutions;
3. partnerships (with other institutions, business, or the community);
4. individuals;
5. public or private schools (PreK-12) or school districts; and
6. organizations that promote a college-going culture.

In addition to a custom-designed award, recipients receive public recognition for their efforts to develop and implement the state's most successful programs, projects, and activities that help meet one or more of the goals of Closing the Gaps by 2015.

A maximum of 12 awards are presented annually. See lists of previous winners and finalists.

Eligibility for the 2009 Star Award

There are two primary categories of Star Award eligibility:

1. Programs, projects and activities at Texas:
   • public and independent two- and four-year colleges and universities;
   • public technical and state colleges;
   • public and independent health science centers; and
   • degree-granting career colleges and schools.


2. Organizations, groups and individuals in Texas that are helping to meet the goals of Closing the Gaps by 2015, including:
   • public and private schools or districts;
   • businesses; and
   • community organizations.

Nominations and Applications

To be considered for a Star Award, an eligible program, project, activity, or person must be nominated by June 15, 2009. Self-nominations are welcome. Instructions for completing and submitting the required application will be provided to nominees upon receipt of a nomination.

Criteria

To be considered for a Star Award:

1. Programs/projects/activities must:
   • Have been in operation for at least two years;
   • Demonstrate successful outcomes in areas of student participation, student success, academic excellence or research that are attributable to the program/project/activity;
   • Demonstrate an efficient cost/benefit ratio per student; and
   • Clearly demonstrate improvement and excellence over time through the use of benchmarks and other comparison data that allow progress to be monitored and evaluated.
2. Organizations/groups/individuals must:
   • Have been focused on helping to meet the goals of Closing the Gaps by 2015 for at least two years (to include the creation of a college-going culture);
   • Demonstrate successful outcomes in areas of student participation, student success, academic excellence, or research that are attributable to the organization/group/individual; and
   • Clearly demonstrate improvement and excellence over time through the use of benchmarks and other comparison data that allow progress to be monitored and evaluated.

Review Process

Step One – Announcement and Call for Nominations

The Star Award Program is announced. Coordinating Board staff will send the announcement and call for Star Award nominations via e-mail to the following groups:

• Public and independent institutions of higher education (chancellors and presidents, chief academic officers, instructional officers, institutional research directors, deans of education, workforce deans, technical deans, registrars, reporting officials, continuing education officers, and public relations officers);
• Career colleges and schools (presidents and executive officers);
• Texas independent school district superintendents (notified with the assistance of the Texas Association of School Administrators);
• Local government and business organizations (African-American Chambers of Commerce of Texas, Texas Association of Business, Texas Regional Council of Governments, County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, Texas High School Project, Texas Association of Mexican-American Chambers of Commerce, Texas Municipal League, and Texas City Management Association); and
• Chambers of Commerce of Texas’ larger cities.

Step Two – Nominations

To be considered for a Star Award, programs/projects/activities or organizations/groups/individuals must be nominated by June 15, 2009.

Step Three – Notifications to Nominees

Coordinating Board staff will notify nominees by June 22, 2009 that they have been nominated for a Star Award, and that a formal application must be received by the Coordinating Board by August 10, 2009.

Step Four – Applications for Star Award

An application form must be completed for each program/project/activity or organization/group/individual nominated for the Star Award. The application must be received at the Coordinating Board's offices by 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2009.

Step Five – Staff Review of All Applications

A Coordinating Board Staff Review Panel will review all applications to determine if requested information is complete and adheres to application requirements. The Staff Review Panel will forward a list of recommended finalists to the Commissioner of Higher Education on the basis of criteria established for the 2009 Star Award. The Commissioner will recommend finalists to the Chair of the Coordinating Board.

Step Six – Committee Review of Finalists' Applications

A nine-member committee appointed by the Chair of the Coordinating Board will review the applications of recommended finalists, make finalist determinations, and decide which of these will be honored. Committee membership will include three members of the Coordinating Board, three Texas business and community leaders, and three out-of-state educational experts.

Step Seven – Notification to Finalists

Coordinating Board staff will notify finalists by September 29 and invite them to attend a special ceremony during which Star Award winners will be announced and honored.

Step Eight – Awards Presentation

The 2009 Star Awards will be presented in early December 2009 at the Coordinating Board's annual Texas Higher Education Leadership Conference/State of Higher Education Luncheon.

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Additional Information

Mary Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Deputy Commissioner Academic Planning and Policy
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Phone: (512) 427-6213
Email: Mary.Smith@thecb.state.tx.us